Island Survival: Starts by chopping a tree-Chapter 21

After a lot of thinking and stuff, I decided to make Chapter above this to be over 1,500 - 1,800 words. It will not be lower than this to offer you more satisfaction in reading my novel :D

Thank you very much for your support till now.

- Author.

...

As a sudden stinging sensation coursed through him, his breathing quickened uncontrollably. He couldn’t understand why his body felt so hot all of a sudden.

Noticing his strange behavior, she looked up at him, only to be met with his flushed, red eyes—a sight that left her confused.

Before she could process what was happening, she felt something hard, like an iron rod, press against her lower abdomen.

Her gaze instinctively dropped, and when she saw the source, terror struck her. She leapt back in fright, startled by the unexpected turn of events.

Though she often acted like a seductress, exuding confidence like a vixen, she was entirely unprepared for something like this.

Inexperienced and overwhelmed, her face flushed a shade of red deeper than any tomato.

"Sorry about that. Let’s move on and forget this ever happened," Jeff said with an awkward cough, clearly embarrassed by the situation himself.

Emma simply nodded, keeping her gaze fixed on the ground, too flustered to make eye contact.

This time, she was much more reserved, fearful that provoking him again might lead to unintended consequences.

Seeing her uncharacteristically subdued demeanor, Jeff couldn’t help but notice a different side of her. The contrast made him chuckle softly.

"Anyway, look at this. Our meal tonight is meat," he said, pointing to the ground beside him.

Emma followed his gesture and saw the massive boar lying there. Its head was crushed, its body riddled with injuries, and it was undeniably dead.

She stared in surprise before a smile of relief spread across her face. The sight filled her with both astonishment and joy.

"Really? The young captain is truly amazing!" Emma exclaimed, staring at the dead boar with a mouth practically watering.

Seeing her cheerful self again, Jeff couldn’t help but smile. When Emma caught his expression, she grew shy and quickly looked away.

"I’ll carry the boar. You grab at least three bamboo shoots—they’re much lighter," Jeff said with a small nod toward the nearby shoots.

Emma nodded in agreement. She glanced at the boar, realizing how massive it was, it is over four feet tall.

There was no way she could lift it even if she tried, let alone drag it. Sticking to the bamboo shoots was clearly the smarter option.

"Let’s head back. It’ll take us hours to return to the shelter," Jeff reminded her.

Emma agreed without hesitation. She knew how perilous the island could become at night, technically a haven for wild creatures so it is best avoid night time.

They then trailed back their way. They were still in the bamboo forest, but after a while, they exited the place. After a few more walks, they finally saw the four of them sitting in a circle.

They were laughing from time to time as they told stories about their lives back then. As they heard a rustling sound, they were wary.

All of them stood up as they glanced cautiously at the spot. Seeing that it was just Jeff and Emma who had returned, they sighed in relief.

"Emma and Young man, you’re back! That’s great. And that? Is that what I think it is!" Charlotte greeted, and when she saw the big boar on his shoulder, she was astonished.

"That’s a boar, finally a meat for us to eat~" Ariana said with a watery mouth looking at the big creature that could fill her hungry stomach.

"Hehe, meat~~" Jessica muttered, finally a normal food to eat.

Even though the Banana worm is good, she was disgusted by it. Now that a meat appeared she was very happy of course.

"Did you really capture it, Captain? I had no idea you could take on a wild animal head-on," Layla said, her tone filled with admiration.

Hearing her praise, Jeff responded with a modest smile. "Actually, it was just luck. The boar got easily provoked and lost control, which made things a lot easier," he replied, recalling the frustrated look on the animal’s face.

Layla shook her head, clearly unconvinced. She thought to herself that it wasn’t luck—it was pure skill, plain and simple.

As they approached, Layla noticed another figure standing beside Jeff, arms crossed and pouting.

"Hmph! You didn’t even bother to welcome me," Emma huffed, her tone indignant as her chest rose and fell with exaggerated frustration.

The three other girls couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy as they watched Emma. With just a single motion, she made them jiggle, an effortless feat that left them convinced they could never compete, even if they were given few more years to catch up.

Charlotte, however, wasn’t as envious. Her confidence stemmed from her greatest asset: her long, alluring legs. With a playful smirk, she approached Emma and gave her a comforting pat.

"Aiyah, I’m so sorry, Emma," Charlotte teased with a laugh.

"It’s just that you’re so small. My eyes can’t fully see you right there."

Her comment was dripping with mischief. In truth, Emma wasn’t short at all—standing at an impressive 5’9". But Charlotte, being slightly taller at 5’10", took the chance to poke fun at her height.

Hearing this, Emma’s expression shifted to a cold smile, her annoyance bubbling beneath the surface. Clearly, she wasn’t going to let that comment slide.

"Heh! At least mine are bigger than yours. Why should I be sorry?" Emma retorted, placing the bamboo shoots on the ground and crossing her arms, which only emphasized her chest.

Charlotte froze for a moment, stunned by the comeback, before her expression shifted to one of irritation.

Anger flared in her eyes as the two locked gazes, their standoff charged with unspoken rivalry. It was as if sparks of lightning crackled between them as they silently provoked one another.

"Alright, alright, that’s enough," Jeff interjected, stepping between them to break the tension.

"Let’s head back. Night will fall in a few hours, and we don’t want to get caught out here, right?" he said giving a good reason.

Both Emma and Charlotte snorted indignantly, turning away from each other with their arms crossed.

Jeff just sighed, weary of their bickering, while the other three girls chuckled and giggled at the scene. They’d always thought Emma and Charlotte were mature, but moments like this proved otherwise.

Hearing their chuckle and giggle, the two were embarrassed. Their reputations were ruined, at least in their eyes. They saw the amusement in their faces.

Jeff then glanced at the stack pile of ropes where it was properly arranged. He glanced intently at Charlotte.

Seeing his hot gaze, she was baffled for a moment. Why was the young man looking at her so strongly?

While he was lost in thought, Jeff could have never imagined that she could make a good quality rope made from the bark of the tree.

"I didn’t know that while the two of us were gone, you could actually accomplish so much," Jeff exclaimed with genuine praise.

Hearing his words, Charlotte’s ears perked up, and she straightened her posture with pride.

"Of course, she thought to herself, this CEO wasn’t born just for business-related projects."

The other three girls stood tall as well, clearly proud of their teamwork in crafting the rope. After some casual chatter, Emma bent down, picked up the bamboo shoots they’d collected, and held them up for everyone to see.

"Look what we found!" she said cheerfully, showing off their discovery.

Charlotte furrowed her brows, staring at the bamboo shoots with visible confusion.

"What is that?" Charlotte asked, tilting her head slightly, as if the answer might magically reveal itself.

Layla, Jessica, and Ariana were also confused. They had no idea what it was. Seeing their confusion, it was her time to look smarter than them.

"This is called a bamboo shoot, and let me tell you, this plant here is edible," she explained.

Hearing the word ’edible’, they were curious, since they had not eaten this kind of plant yet. They really wanted to have a taste of it.

"Can I take a bite" Ariana spoke with her hands, trying to hold it and take a small bite.

Seeing her actions, Emma hurriedly denied. "Stop! It’s still raw. If you eat it now, you’ll get poisoned. You don’t want that, right?" she said with caution, narrowing her eyes.

Hearing the word "Poison," her hands, which had been touching the bamboo shoots, were taken back hurriedly. She hurriedly wiped her hands on her clothes.

"Oh no, Big Sister, why didn’t you explain earlier? I just touched it! Am I going to die!" she exclaimed.

As she jumped frantically, she forcefully wiped her hands on her clothes to remove the poison, even though there was none at all.

Seeing this, Emma, Charlotte, and the other two girls looked at her like she was an idiot. She was being overly dramatic.

’Did she not listen to my explanation at all?’ Emma muttered inwardly.

The same as the three, but their sentence was like this: "Did she not listen to the explanation at all?"

Jeff, seeing her jump like a crazy person, just chuckled at her IQ, "Relax. Did you not listen to Ms. Emma’s explanation at all? You will only be poisoned if you eat it raw. Touching it won’t kill you," he explained.

Hearing this, Ariana stopped and sighed in relief. She looked at their faces, which were looking at her with weird expressions. This made her very embarrassed.

Emma, hearing her called "Ms.," couldn’t help but narrow her gaze. She felt that Jeff was still distancing himself from her.

This made her angry, and she just snorted in rage. Jeff, who felt something was wrong, glanced at Emma, seeing her expression, which said, ’I’m not talking to you.’

With his low EQ, how could he understand this? He thought that she must have some personal problems, so he didn’t bother himself.

"Let’s go before sundown. Looking at the sky, we have about an hour and a half until the moon comes up," he said, looking at the sky.

Jeff then carried the boar on his shoulder. He also told them to carry the rope and helped Emma by carrying the bamboo shoots.

On his shoulder was the boar, and in his right hand was the raw banana. They then first crossed the river and trailed back to their shelter.